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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/979046
IN THE WIND P20 HAYES CAPTURES 2018 ARENACROSS CHAMPIONSHIP J acob Hayes (Team Babbitt's Monster Energy Kawasaki) won the Amsoil Arenacross 250AX final at The Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, May 4. The victory, com- bined with a crash by Chris Blose in the heats, handed him the 2018 Arenacross Championship. Su- percross racer Jacob Williamson (Rockford Fosgate TiLube Honda) finished second on the night, ahead of Travis Sewell (Kawasaki). Hayes came into the final race of the season one point behind Blose in the title chase. Blose in- jured his knee in a crash during his heat, essentially handing Hayes the title. Blose was second in the final points. Hayes went 2-1 on the night. "That second moto was the lon- gest 15 laps I've ever ridden in my life," said Hayes. "I really hate to see Chris Blose get hurt. I don't want to win a title like that. He's a fierce competitor and I wanted it to come down to the wire." After qualifying third, Williamson went 1-2 in the motos. "I got most of my passes done in the whoops because that was my strongest line," said Williamson. "Travis Sewell and I passed each other a few times in that last main and I made it stick with a couple of laps to go. I rode conservative from there and came out second." Sewell went 4-3 in the motos for third overall and finished out the season third in points. "The money difference from first to fifth is pretty big so we knew we needed a good night," said Sewell. "I've been fighting a knee injury all season and the persistence paid off. With everything I've been through, I'll take it." The final round of the AX Lites class determined the champion- ship for both the East and West titles. Ryan Breece (GPF Babbitt's Online GPF/Kawasaki) won the single-moto race to net the West title, his second in a row, while Heath Harrison (Rockford Fos- gate TiLube Honda) grabbed a fourth-place finish to earn the East Championship. "We had a solid weekend, I got good starts and made it up front pretty easily," said Breece. "The track was hard packed and I was really grooving on it. This champi- onship means a lot. The process is long, but we're here and we finally sealed the deal so it's cool." Harrison only needed to finish fourth or better to clinch AX Lites East title. He ran a conservative pace and did just that. "I rode conservatively, didn't push too hard and I got the job done," said Harrison. "The whole team has been amazing and this is the first season I completed and did all of the races. To do that and win is pretty unreal." Harlen Foley Overall Results 1. Jacob Hayes (Kaw) 2-1 2. Jacob Williamson (Hon) 1-2 3. Travis Sewell (Kaw) 4-3 4. Daniel Herrlein (KTM) 3-4 5. Kyle Bitterman (Hon) 5-5 6. Robbie Wageman (Yam) 8-7 7. Steven Mages (Kaw) 10-6 8. Preston Taylor (Kaw) 7-9 9. Gared Steinke (Kaw) 6-13 10. Ryan Breece (Kaw) 9-10 Jacob Hayes came away with this year's Amsoil Arenacross Championship.